Emergency-knuckle.



No. 832,910. PATENTED 001. 9, 1906.

T. 1). JONES.

EMERGENCY KNUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 17. 1906.

wi Masses Improvements in Emergency-Knuckles, of

same coupled.

' emergency-knuckles.

, dinary J anney or Master Car-Builders type,

emergency-knuckle consists of a curved or size-and shape to the hook of an ordinary THOMAS o. JONES, or (.JLE'V'ELAND. omo.

EMERGENC. (-KNUCKLE.

Specification, of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 9, 1906.

Application filed January 17,1906. semi No. 296.562.

To (all "Lu/tom it may concern.-

Be it known that-I, THOMAS D. Jones, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful which the following is a specification.

This invention is an emergency-knuckle for railway-car couplings-that is, a knuckle designed to be used in place of the ordinary knucklewhen the latter is broken. c uently happens that knuckles break, necessitating the temporary substitution of an emergency-knuckle' The ob 'ect of the presentinvention is to provide an emergency-knuckle which can be used with any of the standard draw-heads and which will be automatic in its operation and simple in its construction, and which will not require any special devices for attaching the same to the draw-head or for holding the The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of one of the It freemergency-knuckles applied to a draw-head and coupled with another draw-head and knuckle of ordinary type. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing two of the emergency-knuckles coupled together. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a draw-head provided with one of the Referring speciii ally to the drawings, 6 in dicates a draw-head and 7 a knuckle of the orpivoted to the draw-head by the pin 8.. The

knuckled casting having a front or hook por 'tion 9 and a rear portion 10 and a hole to re-. ceive the bolt 8, located at the rear outer corner or angle of the casting. The hook portion 9 is made of substantially similar knuckle, of length suflicient to throw the point of the hook beyond the center or line of draft, for the purpose ofinterlockingthe emergency-knuckle in engagement with the knuckle of the other head. The rear portion 10 of the einergency-knuckle is made thick and heavy to give sufficient strength and is shaped to lit within. the cavity ll-lound in the standard draw-head and against the kle.

drawdiead, thereby taking the impact oil the pm. Said rear portion 10 extends laterally 1 beyond the end of the hook portion 9. and

when in use the end of said portion 10' bears against the rear or back side of the opposite knuckle at or about the point 12, and hence the pull on the hook 9 causes the emergencyknuckle to grip or look with the opposite knuckle and produce the coupling. The part 10 also acts as'a striker to receive the impact of the opposite coupling and. so throw the knuckle closed when the drawheads come together.

The standard draw-heads vary in the eonfiguration of the latches and other devices used to hold the knuckle closed. Consequently to allow the universal use of an emergencyknuckle it should be without any kind of latch or fastening device, because what would fit one kind of head would not fit another. This emergency-knuckle herein described has no latch, being held closed by its peculiar configuration and by the extension of the ends of its hook and its rear portion beyond the center line with the pivot offset -to the side as far as possible. Consequently the pull comes between the end of the hook and the pivot and does not tend to open the knuc- This action is assisted and the look assured by the bind of the rear portion 10 at the point 12. Hence it can be used on any kind ofhead.

In Fig. 2 I show twoof the emergencyknuckles coupled. They will both hold without any fastening device or latch. In consequence, however, of the shape of the knuckle it is necessary in order to attach or detach two of the emergency-knuckles that one of the pins 8 be withdrawn, as they are locked together when so set and will not unlock under pull. Thus to attach two of the emergency-knuckles together, one knuckle is removed from the draw-head and engaged with the other knuckle. Then the drawhead is brought to the knuckle and the pin 8 inserted. To detach, one pin 8 is removed and the car anddraw-head pulled. away. This frees one knuckle and allows itto drop down away from the other. In other words, vertical movement is essential to'couple or uncouple two of the emergency-knuckles; but necessity for this. very rarely arises.

I claim- The combination with a draw-head of the the draw-head, so as to transmit the impact against said rear portion directly to the v pivoted to the head at its rear outer corner,

;' In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of to. two subscribing Witnesses.

THOMAS JONES.

portion adapted to bind egatinst the outer side of the said knuckle, the casting being and the rear portion of the casting beingshapedto it Within said cavity, and against Witnesses:

JOSEPH WEBB,

draw heed. DANIEL J ONES. 

